[Issue 2026.75]

‘ship of living ghosts’, Davian Aw

Art © 2026 Ellis Bray

we breathe
in small dark spaces cast upon the waves
beneath an infinite sky;
the compass spins. we lose ourselves
in shadows taking forms we would
have left behind forever
in the worlds we cannot live in,
that will not let us live.

we saw
our faces, once.
we saw each other
before the choking weight of lies
before grieving sisters
took each other’s
deadnames to survive.

we unmake ourselves
remake the stories
we tell to keep their tellers safe
stories we tell
to keep from screaming,
stories we tell
to carve out
just—

—a brevity of peace.
a touch
of euphoria

even as we—
fade
behind our eyes,
betraying flesh turning us
strangers to each other,
once more strangers
to ourselves

with only our names
to call our own

upon this ship of living ghosts.

© 2026 Davian Aw

[Issue 2026.75]

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